Abstract
Reactions of C 3H 6, H 2, and CO were studied over Ru SiO 2 . Processes of hydrocarbon chain growth were investigated by comparing product distributions observed in the reactions of C 3H 6 and H 2, and of C 3H 6, H 2, and CO. In the latter experiments, the source of carbon in the products was identified by using 13C-labeled CO and unlabeled C 3H 6 and analyzing the products by isotope-ratio gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Hydrogenation to C 3H 8 is the dominant reaction in the absence of CO. Small conversions of C 3H 6 to CH 4, C 2H 6, and C 4+ products are also observed. Schemes for C 3H 6 hydrogenolysis and hydrogenation are discussed and a chain growth mechanism for C 3H 6 homologation is proposed. The latter involves C 1, C 2, and C 3 monomer units and is shown to describe the observed product distribution. The presence of CO enhances homologation relative to hydrogenolysis and suppresses hydrogenation. The addition of C 3H 6 to a CO H 2 feedstream reduces the rate of CO hydrogenation to form hydrocarbons. However, the overall rates of production of C 4+ hydrocarbons increase with increasing C 3H 6 partial pressure as a result of C 3H 6 homologation. The formation of butanal and butanol via hydroformylation is also observed. Comparisons between the reactions of C 2H 4 and C 3H 6 are made and implications of their similarities and differences are discussed.
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